Monthly Archives: April 2016

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and its milder form, Winter Blues (also known sometimes as Winter Depression, or medically as Sub-syndromal SAD) affects over a quarter of the UK population*. Does that surprise you? It did me! So even if you don’t suffer from one of these conditions yourself, it’s highly likely that someone close to you does. Read on to help you get up to speed with some SAD basics.

One of my favourite ways to describe SAD is through these little fellas; Tigger and Eeyore. I tried out this analogy on a friend once and he loved it!

SAD is thought to be caused by a lack of light. During the late autumn and winter months, the shorter days and lack of sunlight can affect chemical levels in your brain, making you feel down, irritable, lethargic and unsociable – a bit like Eeyore. But in the spring and summer months you feel more ‘yourself’, and even in the depths of winter, a sunny day can bring out the Tigger in you! Some people even experience mania-type symptoms once spring comes round, known as Hypomania. That’s probably where everyone’s energy comes from for the big spring-clean! 😉 For a bit of fun, I found this quiz to identify which Winnie the Pooh character you’re most like – I turned out to be Kanga! 🙂

SAD basics – the facts

SAD is a type of depression. I know some people aren’t comfortable with this description, but medically, they do sit on the same scale. What differentiates SAD from other types of depression is that it has a very definite seasonal pattern. You normally will have experienced symptoms in a particular season that disappear reliably in another season for three consecutive years before you would be diagnosed with SAD.

There are also other, rarer types of SAD that people suffer from, such as Summer SAD. This site mostly addresses Winter SAD and Winter Blues, as the most common form of the condition and the kind that I suffer from. Other tell-tale differences are that unlike ‘classic’ depression, you tend to want to sleep and eat more (usually carbs) when you suffer from SAD, whereas with ‘classic’ depression, people often lose their appetite and find it difficult to sleep. This is a very individual condition though, so it’s always worth checking any symptoms with your doctor, rather than self-diagnosing.

For interest, though, you might be wondering what are the other symptoms of SAD? Well, I mentioned some of the main ones already, but a few of the most common others include:

Disturbed sleep patterns

Loss of interest in things you normally enjoy and social withdrawal

Craving carbohydrates and sweet foods (comfort food!)

Loss of libido

Anxiety

Difficulty concentrating/feeling fuzzy-minded

Lowered immune system in winter

Managing SAD

There isn’t a ‘cure’ for SAD or Winter Blues. However, many people can successfully manage their symptoms using light therapy. The SAD Association estimates that this will work for around 85% of sufferers. Your doctor may also recommend treatment with medication and talking therapies.

You’d normally use light therapy daily from the onset of your symptoms, often from around September until April when the daylight hours lengthen. The treatment involves exposure to a bright SAD light that simulates the level of light you would get on a bright spring day. How long you need to use the light for depends on the severity of your symptoms and the strength of the light.

I whole-heartedly recommend giving light therapy a go – I have managed my symptoms since being diagnosed using a SAD light and a dawn simulator, which wakes me gently with light in the morning. I recommend dawn simulators to everyone, regardless of whether or not they suffer from SAD – they’re such a lovely way to wake up! 🙂

I hope this introduction to some SAD basics has been helpful to you. I will write some more in-depth posts, but if you want more information on SAD and Winter Blues before then, please have a look at this NHS page and SADA’s website.

If you’re able to attend events in Newcastle upon Tyne, you can get a taste of what light therapy is all about at Little Light Room events.

What Winnie the Pooh character do you identify with? Is there something in particular that you’d like me to cover in a future post?